Almost
by CandyDreamer
Summary: Alternative ending to IWRY


**_DISCLAIMER:_**_ Nothing belongs to me, it's all Joss's, Fox, WB, Mutant Enemy etc.. And also I have no money to give ya anyway!_

**Almost**

"I'll never forget, I'll never forget," was the last thing Buffy remembered saying before feeling like she was being ripped in half. Opening her eyes she found Angel in front of her exactly like the previous day. That was when she realised what had happened. 

The PTB had reversed the day but Buffy could remember everything that had happened! 

Why? She thought. What was the point in that? 

Had she wanted to remember badly enough that the Powers That Be had decided to let her keep her memories?

Buffy smiled at the thought. Maybe she and Angel could be together after all.

Then she saw Angel looking at her strangely.

'He doesn't know I know, what do I do? I can't let him find out, it would almost kill him. He did this for me.'

He made the decisions last time, this time it's my turn.

"So then let's just stick to the plan. Keep our distance until a lot of time has passed. Given enough time we should be able to…"

"…Forget." Angel interrupted her little speech.

"Yeah. So…I'm gonna go…start forgetting." Buffy knew exactly what was going to happen next but she had to let Angel go on thinking that she remembered nothing so she turned away as if to leave. When she heard the crash she turned around looking shocked. She saw Angel pick up the clock and smash it into the same place Buffy had smashed not long ago. She also saw the Mohra demon grab his head and hit the wall behind before disappearing in a flash of light. 

'This is it, my moment. Do I carry on pretending and go on with my life knowing what we had, could've had or do I tell him I know everything and see where it goes from there,' Buffy thought. 'It can't happen; everything would be as it was last year. We can't have a normal life, as much as we want one. So here goes…'

"That was unreal…How did you know how to kill it?" she asked trying to sound impressed but also shocked. 

"It was a Mohra Demon," he answered a little too quickly, and then carried on. "I uhh…I've had a lot of time to catch up on my reading."

Buffy took a deep breath and started again, trying not to look into his eyes, "So, ok…I guess we've covered it, right?"

"I guess we did," Angel replied, looking like he was struggling to get to grips with it all.

One look at Angel's face made her want to tell him everything and start snogging the face off him all at the same time. 

I'm not going to tell him, I'm going to be strong, she thought with what Willow would call a resolved face. 

"Then that's all there really is to say," she said, trying desperately not to let her voice break or burst into tears or scream to him that she said she would never forget and she didn't. 

"Angel, I'll never forget, I can't forget what we had and I don't want to," Buffy practically screamed at him just as she was turning to leave. She didn't know what had happened but she hadn't made it to the door, as hard as she had tried. 

The look on Angel's face was something that would stay with Buffy the rest of her life as short as it was expected to be. He had such a look of hope on his face that she wanted to cry, before realising she already was.

"How can you remember? You weren't meant to remember, only I was supposed to go through that pain, alone," Angel asked with a look of joy and concern on his beautiful face.

"I don't know why but I am so glad I can, this gives us another chance, I must have remembered for a reason." Buffy couldn't stop herself from smiling at this point. "Angel, the decision you made for me, you don't have to go through it alone, I will be with you every step of the way. Oh God, that sounds so corny but I mean it all. I love you and we were meant to be together, and whether you will admit it or not, you know as much as I do that we are. This day has shown me that more than ever, and also the fact that as hard as I tried I couldn't make it past your office door. I felt something holding me back, that thing was you, Angel, I'll never leave you, ever."

"Buffy, you know the reason I left after Graduation, it still applies now, as much as ever, perhaps even more so. I saw you talking with a boy when you were outside the coffee shop; his name is Riley, Willow said. And although I felt jealous, do you know what else I felt, joy, for you. You were doing exactly the thing I had in mind for you when I left, getting on with your life, a life without me. You know I love you, you mean everything to me, your happiness means everything to me, and when you were talking to that boy, you looked happy. That is the reason, I didn't want you to remember, because you wouldn't have went on with your life." 

At this point Buffy interrupted him, "Angel, stop. I want you to give me a reason why you think I remembered the day except because our love overcame it. We both know you wanted me to remember as much as I did, so give me another reason. Now." Buffy waited for Angel to speak, with a look on her face that moments ago had been joy but which now looked a little like anger.

"Buffy…."Angel began but faltered. He didn't try to speak again, instead just walked over to where she was standing, and kissed her with so much passion, that she felt her head might explode. He kissed her for all the times he had walked away from her, he kissed her for all the times he had hurt her as Angelus and as Angel, he kissed her for all the pain he must have caused her having to send him to hell, and he kissed her for the memories of the lost day that weren't gone because he knew they had too much love. 

"We'll make it work this time, I promise. No walking away." Angel whispered softly into her hair. 

"I won't let you," Buffy answered out of breathe from the passionate kiss that almost never was. 

3 Weeks Later 

"Buffy, I've found it. I've found it." Willow came into the dorm room she shared with Buffy screaming loud enough to wake the people sleeping in England. 

"Found what?" Buffy was slightly annoyed at being woken up from an incredibly unforgettable dream about a very real experience that had happened only 3 weeks ago.

"A spell I know you will want to know about. It's for Angel. I haven't told you this before but I have been looking for a spell that would turn Angel human, I'm really sorry Buffy but I couldn't find one but I found this instead," at this point she shoved some old book into Buffy's face. 

Buffy eyed it warily before deciding she wanted to know what was going on, so she began to read. 

'Once a millennium, there will come a demon with a soul. These demons will love and know love in return but will not be able to experience the act of love for if they do, and experience a moment of true happiness or contentment the soul will be ripped from them, and a severe act of punishment will be brought upon them. In order to prevent the soul being taken, an incantation can be performed which would anchor the soul so that it could never be removed. This involves one person who must be very close to the demon; the incantation works best if this is a lover. Another person must be on hand to perform the incantation.'

The directions and the words followed, but Buffy was so much in shock that she couldn't read any further.

"Will, do you know what this means? Angel and I could be together, without any worries about his soul, we could be together like normal a couple can." Buffy didn't even try to hide her excitement. She and Angel had been together as much as they possibly could these past weeks, but she had college and he still had the business in LA. As much as Buffy had loved the past weeks, the lost day had only awakened the fact that it was incredibly hard to be together without losing themselves in each other, a few times they had been so close to getting lost in each other's arms. This spell would mean that they didn't have to stop themselves from getting to intense; they could be together as they should be. 

Willow was just smiling at her friend; she was so glad that the powers had led her to this spell right when she was thinking about giving up her search.

They performed the spell the next day. Buffy had telephoned Angel as soon as she had got her senses back, and he had rushed right to her side, okay it had taken 2 hours to drive to Sunnydale, but he hadn't wasted any time leaving LA. 

Buffy and Angel sat inside a circle painted in red chalk on the floor, while Willow chanted the words that were written in the book.

"All spells from times past and times to come, leave this body to my control. 

  Let this body become a prison that cannot be broken, 

  And within this prison anchor the soul of this broken warrior.

  Let him be free."

A white light filled the circle, and then Buffy and Angel felt something go through them, before both of them fainted. It went dark and Willow rushed to their side to make sure they were all right. They both sat up and looked at each other.

"Did it work?" Buffy spoke first.

"I think so but we can't be sure," Angel answered warily.

"The powers?" Willow asked.

"Definitely." Buffy and Angel said at the same time.

"Does Angel really have his soul anchored?" Buffy asked immediately.

"It's true then, I thought that a change had been made." The female power answered.

"My soul cannot be lost now then? No matter what happens?" Angel asked obviously trying to hide a smile.

"Your soul cannot be lost. You can leave now." And with a wave of her hand both Buffy and Angel were in the entryway.

"You're soul is here to stay, what do u want to do next?" Buffy asked with a huge grin.

Angel leant forward and kissed her. "My place?"

"Ummm, definitely," and dragged Angel and started running. 

**_ONLY THE BEGINNING………….._**


End file.
